Fabric binding



Jan. 22, 1929. R. c. MERRIAM FABRIC BINDING Filed June 5, 1927 Inveniorr z glaze-2 aMernia 45 ribbon.

UNITEDQSFST'AFTES 4 ROBERT C. MERBIAI,OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T EDWARD P.

MEBBIAM, OF LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS. j

PATENT-OF Application filed Julie 3,

This invention relates to bindings, and particularly to fabric bindings suitable for a variety of uses, but especially in connection with boots and shoes; 7

In the drawings of one embodiment of my invention described and illustrated herein,

Fig. 1 is \a plan of a strip of my novel "binding;

Fig. 2, a similar view of a strip of fabric 1 from which it may be made Fig. 3, a like view of a strip of the fabric partially prepared for the completion of my invention;

Fig. 4, a vention;

Fig. 5, a s

'form;

Fig. 6, a partial plan of a shoe vamp showing my novel binding preliminarily stitched thereto along one edge, as the firststep' in its attachment thereto;

Fig. 7, a similar view of the reverse side of the vamp showing the binding turned over and finally secured thereto; and

Fig. 8, a similar view of the same side of thevamp showing the binder secured thereto further from the edge, showing the different colored cot ton warp section of the binding. My novel binding, Fig.1, comprises prefl erably a fabric strip, as a ribbon, of suitable material, preferably lar el silk, as grosgrain ribbon. While, as state prefer to usesilk, yet good silk is expensive, and much expense plan of a modified form of my inimilar View of further modified may be avoided, where desirable, by using aribbon madeof silk and some cheaper mate'- rial, as cotton, combined.

Accordingly, in'Fig. 2, I have shown a 4 strip of ribbon 1, the warp threads 2 of which 40 along each side are of silk,- while a section'3 of the warp threads near'the center are of cotton. Usually all the weft threads are of cotton. By this construction, I save a material part of the manufacturing cost-of the With the ornamental styles of womens shoes now, in vogue, a very large amount of binding is necessary for not only the edges of the vamps,but particularly for the edges of theankle straps, andornamental straps which are fashioned from and are art of the vamp, and accordingly the cost 0 --the;

binding is every material item. f v

" '.-Furthermore, the present styles use mate.-

rials of many colors and my novel binding maycomprise yarn dyed s lk of one color 192%} Serial no. 196,263.

and yarn fdyed'cottonof a different color, as may be desired, to. harmonize with the leather of diflerentfcolor's With little trouble. l 1

Much of the edges of the shoe members, as the vamp, is curved and there are many sharp 1 1 0,061 FICE.

,to great advantage and turns, so-that it requires great skill to stitch the binding to the bodymaterialsmoothly-.

To facilitate the application of the binding at all times, and particularly when stitching around curves, I have conceived the' idea-of removing one selvage and then snipping, serrating or-slitting' the unsecured edge of, the binding left thereby to enable it"to "be more smoothly and readily stitched and to .lay flat:

without strain or fullness when turned over the edge. While this snipping may take many forms as angular or straight cuts, I I, prefer to do it sothat the edge will be ser-- rated, Fig. 1, providing saw teeth 4; or even providing a series of scallops 5 as in Fig.4,

either of which, of course, are cutto an ap;

propriate depth. 'The teeth may also befurtherseparatedby a short st-might cut across the binding which I have 'found'sometimes to be anadvantage' Y j w Preparatory to this'serrating step, how; ever, Fig. 3, I prefer to apply a war-pandweft-thread-position-retainingmaterial to]; face thereof at and adjacent to theserrated non-selvaged edge, whereby the warp and weft threads are held together. In practising my invention I, according to the disclosed embodiment-thereof, apply to the back of the ribbon a coat of any suitable sizing material 6, as glue, starch, cement or the like, 'toprevent the unsecured edge of the binding from ravelling after it has been serrated. The

serrating of the edge ispreferably done'by v machinery so that it will be done with precision making all the cuts of predetermined depth. At the present time any snipping of the unsecured edge of the binding is. done by the hand with scissors. This hand opera tion is not only slow and laborious but it very often results in snips of uneven depth. When the snips. are not deep enough the binding subtends the arc of' the curve, making a -wrinkle that greatly detracts from the ap-.

pearance-ofthe shoe. When the snipsare too 'deep',"a-s is often the case,"the binding is so Weakenedthat it breaks across during the lasting or subsequent operations, thus causing cripples and seconds shoes. The ser-' rated or scalloped binding edge permits the turning of inside or concave curves more readily, without the teeth for tongues of the binding overlapping" and thus results in a bettenappearing and smoother edge. The

convex. curves are also more accurately and neatly turned by simply spreading the teeth as required.

. While most turns of the edges can be made very satisfactorily with a binding having teeth or snips of even depth, yet in some cases the very sharp, almost right angle turns can be made much better by a binding, part of,

the teeth -'of which are of increased depth, permitting a more abrupt bending of the binding without overlapping the serrations or teeth in concave turns and a greater spreading of the teeth on convex curves.

Accordingly, Fig. 5, I may make every third or fourth tooth 7 of the binding of greater length. While in stitching the binding to the work, itis not always the fact that a long tooth will be positioned opposite a sharp turn, yet in many cases, when that does not happen the operator can, by a little skillfulmanipulation, crowd or stretch the binding a little so as to cause along tooth to register with a sharp turn of the edge, and thus gain the advantage which the long tooth provides in such emergencies.

- The binding, Fig. 6, is first or preliminarily secured reverse side up on the work, its selvage registering therewith by one row of jstitching 8 along its selvage adjacent the outside edge of the material 9, as a vamp. The binding, Fig. 7, is then cemented and turned backwardly over the material edge and pressed down upon the reverse side of the material leaving the' face of the binding exposed on the work edge.

If, Fig. 7, the cotton warp section is the same in color as the silkwarp section, the lining 10 of the shoe is then positioned on the "inside face of the vamp, the lining edge registering therewith and secured by a row of stitching 11 along its edge, and through the cementedbinding edge and vamp.

, If, however. Fig. 8,rthe cotton warp section is of a different color from the silk wa sectionand it isdesii'ed to show it, then thelining edge 10 may be placed far enough from' the vamp edge 9 to show the .diiferent, color of the cotton warp section and then the stitching 11 effected as before.

It is' even practicable to obtain a substan-.

tial part of the advantage arising from my invention by simply removing one selvage and without snipping or serrating the unse cured edge left thereby. This unsecured edge is more or less yielding and maybe stretched to permit theapplication of the binding about a curved edge of the work where the curve is not too sharp. Obviously this stretching of the unsecured edge to carry it about the curve requires some time and effort .and this is, therefore, not so effective a form of the invention as that comprising the serrated edge which permits amore rapid the binding to the work edge.

This invention is not limited to the precise embodiment thereof described and illustrated herein.

' Claims application of 1. A fabric binding, especially adapted for use in connection with boots and shoes, consisting of a strip of woven material provided with a selvage along one edge to provide an anchor for the securing line of stitches that pass through said strip adjacent said selvage and having its opposite edge serrated-and non-selvaged to admit of ready stretching,

said strip having a warp-and-weft-thread .boot or shoe.

2. A fabric binding, especially adapted for use in connection. with boots and shoes, con- I sisting of a strip of woven material provided with a selvage along one edge to providean anchor for the securing line of stitches that pass through said'strip adjacent said selvage and having its opposite edge'serrated and non-selvaged to admit of ready stretchmg,

said strip having asizin applied to a face thereof only at and 'close y adjacent to said serrated, non-salvaged edge, whereby the warp and weft threads at said edge are sized andheld'together, and whereby adjacent to said selvaged edge the stri is left unsized and flexible.- so that it may e readily folded lengthwise in the act of securing the strip in position upon the boot or shoe. Y

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

ROBERT C. MERRIAM. 

